http://www.thestreet.com/funds/followmoney/10358370.html?puc=googlefi
On May 18, 2007 Odyssey Marine announced a major treasure find that could be worth upwards of $500Mil. Some say that the discovery is the Merchant Royal, a rich 17th Century English Merchant ship which sank in 1671. In what seems like a made-for-TV production this find has had its share of intrigue such as a covert midnight flight out of Gibraltar with the treasure, and Spain's suspicion that OMR has somehow looted the HMS Sussex. The latest surprise is that John Edwards, the former vice presidential candidate, will get an undisclosed piece of the action from the sunken 17th-century galleon.
One of the biggest shareholders in Odyssey Marine, the company that discovered the treasure, is New York-based Fortress Investments (FIG). FIG is a private equity and hedge fund manager and a senior adviser and major investor of FIG is none other than John Edwards.
Edwards' personal financial disclosures show he's an investor in the exclusive Drawbridge Global Macro Fund, which owns the 9.9% stake in OMR.
Fortress' stake is even bigger than at first appears. In a complex holding, it owns 3.1 million shares, plus millions more in preferred stock and warrants. Total economic interest is the equivalent of 6.98 million shares. After the announcement by Odyssey, OMR's shares were up 80% to a record high of $9.45 per share on May 21st, 2007.